GB2609596A

GB2609596A - Antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm

Info

Publication number: GB2609596A
Application number: GB2107856.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Edwards James
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-06-02
Filing date: 2021-06-02
Publication date: 2023-02-15
Also published as: GB202107856D0

Abstract

A combined antitheft dog lead 5 and harness 2 comprises a dog lead body 1 that forms a housing for a lead tape wheel 6 and handle 8, and has a built in audible alarm unit and lead control trigger (7A, fig 2). A wrist strap 9 is tethered to the top of the dog lead body 1 with thin braided copper wire inside the tether 3. The lead tape 5 also contains the braided copper wire (13B, fig 3) inside it and is sewn into the top of the dog harness 2. The dog harness 2 has buckles (16, fig 2). The braided copper wire (13B, fig 3) in the lead tape 5 and tether 3 may be between two surfaces of nylon stitched along opposing edges. The tether 3 may be sewn into the wrist strap 9. The wrist strap 9 may be held onto the wrist and adjusted using hook and eye pads. The audible alarm unit may have round cell batteries (21 and 22, fig 3), an alarm device chip (23, fig 3) that controls the alarm, and a speaker.

Description

PATENT APPLICATION OF

JAMES MARK EDWARDS

FOR

ANTITHEFT DOG LEAD WITH COMBINED HARNESS AND ALARM

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to extendable dog leads used with a harness on small to large dogs.

Background

The use of extendible dog leads is widespread and they provide a way of allowing a dog to roam more freely but on an extending and controlled lead which has a fast-winding technique to bring the dog back to the owner. The lead is a thin narrowed strip of material which winds onto a roller wheel mechanism inside the dog lead unit and is lockable if the lead needs to be held at a certain length for walking, using a sliding switch.

In recent years the theft of dogs has increased dramatically world wide and a thief will often confront the dog owner and steal the dog, often by threatening them and removing the dog from the lead and taking it away with the harness or collar still on the dog, this is possible because a dog lead usually clips into the top of the harness or collar through a metal loop.

Another very common method is to cut through the lead itself using a sharp implement such as a knife and take the dog.

The present invention aims to improve dog leads and harnesses to attend to this issue by having a lead which is permanently attached to the harness and means to prevent the lead being cut at all, these are combined with a special audible alarm to warn third parties that they are being attacked.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided an antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm which has a dog lead body which forms a handle and a housing for a lead wheel. A wrist strap is wrapped around the wrist of the owner and is tethered securely to the dog lead body by a tether strap. The dog lead tape extends in the known way from the lead opening hole in the frontal top surface of the dog lead body and extends between five and ten metres, depending on the chosen product version.

To the end of the lead tape is a dog harness into which the lead tape end is permanently sewn in, using a pass under connection between the harness layers which is heavily stitched into place to make the dog lead tape and the harness inseparable and unable to be disconnected.

The dog harness is preferably adjusted and held together using thread through buckles having belt holes and a prong to allow finite adjustment to the dog's body for comfort but also making it very difficult for a thief to undo in the melee and duress of an attack. A clip together buckle could also be used providing that the area where the clip is pressed to release it apart, is of the smaller fitting, making it difficult to handle and unclip also. The lead tape is made of a nylon material for strength having a braided flexible copper wire to its interior. The nylon material covers the thin braided copper wire inside it between two surfaces of nylon stitched along the opposing edges; to give the appearance of a standard dog lead tape but is almost impossible to cut through using a knife or scissors. Braided copper wire is fully flexible and as it is a woven braid it is very strong physically. It may also be possible to coat the braided copper wire using a liquid coating during manufacture with lightly covers it but also enable full flexibility during use and enabling it to rapidly roll up and extend as needed.

The dog lead tape is controlled using a control trigger in a 'gun style' handle which is comfortably held in the hand with added support from the tethered wrist strap. Said trigger is a simple pivoted sprung loaded return unit which has a forward rocking friction arm which presses onto the rotating lead wheel edge around which the lead tape is wound, internally, thus when the trigger is pressed the friction arm moves forward to stop the tape rotating and holding it in place, under the direction of the trigger. When the trigger is released the friction arm moves away from the tape on the internal wheel and the tape is free to move.

If the user wishes to hold the lead tape at a certain chosen length, a simple push through return button passes through the trigger and holds it closed. This button has a simple sprung return when depressed again to release the trigger and therefore the lead tape.

The wrist strap is a cushioned soft material of slight thickness and is either buckle strapped or held closed and adjusted using a hook and eye pad ensemble. The tether strap, as aforementioned, is embedded and secured within the material layers of the wrist strap and passes directly inside the body of the dog lead body, at its top edge, through a slit opening and being secured into the body interior using an end fixture method, which is much larger than the slit opening into which it is inserted, preventing it from being removed.

The tether also contains braided copper wire to also prevent it from being cut by the thief during any incident. The wrist strap may also be of various materials and types, including a cotton 'sweat band' style for comfort or a more military styled cotton weave, always with a comfort focus.

The audible alarm is located to the upper right or left side of the dog lead body, as shown in the accompanying Figures. This is powered by a group of round cell batteries which power the alarm device chip and speaker, controlled by pressing a button located through the surface of the dog lead body in a hole. The speaker is small but emits an extremely loud siren sound, which can be an individually registered 'warning siren' sound. This enables it to be recognised as the sound for a dog being stolen when heard from a distance, this would rely on authorities allowing a siren sound to be applied specifically for this purpose, for example; a Police car siren can be recognised from that of an ambulance.

If this type of authority registered alarm sound is not possible then a loud standard distress alarm sound is created using a speaker, instructed by the alarm device chip.

Upon the moment of an attack, the user is able to use their thumb from the same single hand holding the handle, owing to the advantageous position of the button to the hand holding the handle. They may also use their other hand to action the alarm button if this is not possible due to the melee of the attack at the time.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail; it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also; it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such; those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important; therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the Patent Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm which has all the advantages of the prior art dog leads and harnesses and none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm which is of durable and reliable construction.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a product available to the buying public.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of figures

Figure 1 shows a side view of the antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm used on a larger dog Figure 2 shows a dimensional view of the antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm Figure 3 shows a dimensional view of the antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm with internal features shown.

Figure 4 shows a side view of the antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm used on a small dog.

Figure 5 shows a side sectional view of the trigger control for the lead tape, in he held position.

Figure 6 shows a side sectional view of the trigger control for the lead tape, in the released position

Detailed description of figures

A typical embodiment of the antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm is shown in Figure 1. It comprises the dog lead body 1 which has a dog lead body handle 8 that is formed from the single moulded shape of the dog lead body and provides the housing for the lead wheel 6. A wrist strap 9 has a tether 3 that is set into its interior and passes over the top and directly inside a slit in the top edge of the dog lead body 1 where it is permanently fixed, to prevent any removal.

The wrist strap has a soft comfortable body, to include a sweat band type material and is adjusted and closed using a hook and eye fitting sown into the wrist strap surface as corresponding pads. A thin braided copper wire is inside the tether to provide strength to it and prevent it from being cut.

The dog lead tape 5 is fixed directly into the harness top 11 at a fixture point 10 as a permanent connection and is sewn inside to make the harness 2 and the lead one single combined item which cannot be separated. The interior of the lead tape 5 is the thin braided copper wire which is totally flexible and prevent the tape 5 being cut during an attack, as shown in Figure 1.

The dog lead body 1A is shown as a close view in Figure 2, having the inlet hole 4 for the dog lead tape 5A to pass inside the body 1A, with its thin braided copper wire 13 to its interior, to wind around the lead wheel in the housing 6A. The body 1A forms into the dog lead body handle 8A which has a trigger 7A for controlling the flow of the dog lead tape 5A. An alarm button 12 is provided on the upper side of the body 1A to be operated and within comfortable reach of the thumb when held. The aforementioned wrist strap 9A and tether 3A are shown in adjacent position to the dog lead body for wearing on the wrist.

The harness 2A has the harness top 11A with fixture point 10A with further body sections 14 and 17 and harness bottom 18 and 20 using thread through buckles 16 and 19 to adjust their length and diameter to the body of each individual dog, having belt holes for a more secure fitting, making it more difficult to remove by a thief during any incident under duress. If a clip type adjustment 15 is used instead of the thread through buckles 16, the size of the clips should be of the very small type to make it very difficult to remove in the 'melee' of an incident. Larker clips would be too easy to handle and unclip at this time.

The alarm on handle is operated using a slightly protruding button 12 which is linked to the alarm unit inside (not shown).

The said alarm has round cell batteries 21 and 22 located to connectors on an alarm device chip 23 which has the switch unit for the alarm button 12B, as shown in Figure 3. As aforementioned the lead tape 5B with is thin braided copper wire 13B passes through an inlet hole 4B to wind around the lead wheel 25 which rotates around the centrally appointed bearing member pin 24.

The trigger 7B operates in conjunction with said lead wheel to stop it or release its flow when in use using a friction arm 26, this stop position can be locked using a push through locking button 27, which passed though a hole in the trigger body holding it in place thus locking the movement of the lead wheel 25, as shown further in Figure 5 and 6.

The antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm can be used on small dogs, having a smaller harness 2C with the same fixture point 10C attached to the dog lead body 1C, with thumb operated alarm button 12C, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5 shows a close sectional view of the trigger unit having the trigger 7D inside the handle 8D with its pivot bar 29, passing through it horizontally and set into either side of the body lead body shell. When the trigger 7D is pressed a spring unit 31 is compressed against the spring retainer encasement 30, which is moulded inside the dog lead body shell and the rocking friction arm 28 rocks forward to fully contact with the lead wheel edge 25D, this held positioned can be made a stop position by depressing a through locking button 27, as aforementioned.

When the trigger 7E within the handle 8E is released and it pivots on the pivot bar 29E, the friction arm 28E moves away from the tape wheel edge 25E on the internal wheel; as the spring unit 31E expands back to its original size and the tape is free to move inward and outward of the dog lead body.

If the user wishes to hold the lead tape at a certain chosen length again, they can hold it using the trigger alone or a simple push on the through locking button 27 holds it closed. This button has a simple sprung return when depressed again to release the trigger and therefore the lead tape.

Claims

Claims 1) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm comprising; a dog lead body forming a housing for a lead tape wheel and handle, having a built in audible alarm unit and lead control trigger, further to this a wrist strap is tethered to the top of the dog lead body having thin braided copper wire inside the tether, the extending lead tape also contains said braided copper wire inside it and is sewn into the top of the dog harness directly using heavy stitching, this harness further having buckles which are of a type which are more difficult to remove under duress.
2) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 1 wherein a lead tape has thin braided copper wire inside it between two surfaces of nylon stitched along the opposing edges.
3) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 1 and 2 wherein said wrist strap tether has braided copper wire between two surfaces of nylon stitched along the opposing edges.
4) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 1 wherein a tether is sewn into the wrist strap.
5) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 3 wherein a wrist strap is held onto the wrist and adjusted using hook and eye pads.
6) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 1 wherein an audible alarm unit has round cell batteries.
7) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 6 wherein an alarm unit has an alarm device chip which controls the alarm.
8) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 7 wherein an alarm unit has a speaker.
9) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 1 wherein a trigger pivots on a horizontal pivot bar.
10) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 9 wherein a trigger is sprung loaded.
11) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 10 wherein a spring is held against a spring retainer encasement.
12) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 10 wherein a trigger has a rocking friction arm.
13) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 11 wherein a rocking friction arm stops the rotation of a lead wheel inside a dog lead body.
14) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 13 wherein a through locking button holds a trigger in a stop position.
15) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 1 wherein said buckles on a harness are belt types with holes and a prong.
16) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 15 wherein buckles on a harness can be clip types with small fittings.
17) An antitheft dog lead with combined harness and alarm according to claim 1 wherein a harness cannot be separated from a dog lead body.